


It's Hard to Get a Credit Card when You're Legally Dead.

by Cuffs_Alister



Series: Bats, Birds, Bookstores, and Bargains [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Bookstores, Jason is a Dork, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-07-09 08:01:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19884289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cuffs_Alister/pseuds/Cuffs_Alister
Summary: Warm places are hard to come by in a city as cold as Gotham.  When Jason finds one, he gets attached.





	It's Hard to Get a Credit Card when You're Legally Dead.

**Independent Bookstore: Gotham City ******

********

****

The exterior of the building was as gloomy as the surrounding buildings. Dark. Artdeco. Probably had gargoyles on top. Jason didn’t bother to look up to check. 

By contrast, a warm light filtered through the pristine windows. This was what initially drew Jason’s eye. A warm, inviting space nestled in the austere architecture of Gotham. The incongruity of the situation was disarming and amusing. Or at least, amusing enough that Jason chuckled before pushing through the swinging door to enter.

Jason was prepared to observe a cozy bookshop, one he could comfortably browse and not worry. He was not prepared to be faced immediately with the name Ocean Vuong upon entry. 

Sure enough, there, on the front display of newly published books, was a stack of hardcovers titled _On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous _, followed by the name of one of the most heart-wrenching poets Jason had read. If you couldn’t tell, he was a fan. And somehow, had no idea that this novel was coming.__

____

____

“Sir? Is there anything we can help you with?” one of the employees asked. She was a small thing, only coming up to around Jason’s chest. Though she stood up with excellent posture, her shaking gave away how intimidated she was by Jason’s, well, rather hulking figure. 

“When… did this come out?” he asked, gently picking up the top copy of the book. His voice was soft, not quite as shaky as the bookseller’s, but clearly thrown off.

“Just last week sir. I can check you out a copy if you want, or you can walk around the store with it.” The tremble in her voice was dissolving more with every word. “However, I will need you to move out from in front of the door, regardless of your decision.”

It was then that Jason noticed he had indeed stopped short in front of the door, and was blocking anyone from entering or exiting. He initially described the shop as cozy, but cozy could easily become cramped. Especially when one was over 6 feet tall and rather athletic.

“Right… I’ll just… I’ll just browse for a bit,” he mumbled. He stepped to the side and attempted to make himself smaller (though he failed rather miserably at the latter). 

As Jason wandered through the stacks, looking for the poetry section, he noticed the little details of the shop. Lighting fixtures in stained glass cast a warm glow on the dark wood bookshelves. Jason thought they must be cherry or mahogany stained. The ceiling was low, leading to shorter bookshelves, which probably made life easier for the booksellers. As he made his way back to the front, he noticed the seating area in the front window. Two armchairs, a small, but deep couch. A coffee table with mugs littered about. 

He stopped at the register. In a pile on the counter, he set several books of poetry, a couple of plays, one YA book that still had the review poking out, and on the very top, the book that stopped him short when he came in. 

“Did you find everything you were looking for, sir?” the clerk asked. Jason hunched a bit, unconsciously -- she couldn’t have been more than 5 feet tall, not including the electric-blue bun on top of her head. She was unabashedly herself -- a large personality contained within a small body. 

He smiled a bit. “Considering I didn’t come in looking for anything, I seem to have made out pretty well.”

“I’d say so.” She smiled back. “Wow. You buying for multiple people or what?”

“I mean, I hope my brothers read them, but no, just for me,” Jason laughed. Then, under his breath he added, “Maybe Bruce should read them too.”

The scanner beeped with each item. “I take it that’s a friend of yours?” The clerk didn’t mean to pry, but boundaries are hard and booksellers tend to be awkward people. And really, Jason couldn’t help but take it as an opportunity to dig at Bruce a little.

“Oh not exactly. You might call us frenemies, or you could call him my adoptive dad. We don’t really … get along, most of the time,” Jason said with a smirk. 

“Your total is $78.42,” the clerk said, a bit softer than she had been speaking before.

Jason chuckled to himself as he handed over his card. Really, it wasn’t Jason’s own card; he didn’t have one. Turns out applying for credit when the city hasn’t declared you resurrected is difficult. As such, the name on the card read Bruce Wayne. The clerk’s purple eyeshadow disappeared as her eyes widened. 

“Y-” The clerk started to say. Jason cut her off with a wry finger to his lips. Don’t say anything the gesture said. This is our secret now.

“Is it alright if I sit over there and read for a bit?” Jason gestured to the seating area in the front window.

The clerk nodded. “You… you look just like him,” she said.

“Yeah… for some reason all of us do. It’s the black hair and blue to green eyes I think.” 

“Coffee’s over there,” she said, gesturing at a small table on the other side of the entrance. Her curiosity was written across her face, though she was trying hard to mask it. 

“You’re wondering which one I am,” Jason said.

She froze for a moment. Then, nodded.

“My name’s Jason.” He gave a kind smile. Anyone who knew him would have probably said that smile was a lie. It wasn’t though. Though there were few things that could make him smile quite like that, good books and friendly girls were among them. (Kori’s charm had worn off a bit. Living with a person will do that to you.)

***  
A couple of weeks later, there was a villain attack in the area. The blue haired clerk hid behind the counter for most of it, but poked her head out when, after a crash of glass that could only have been the windows, a familiar voice said, “Really? That’s my favorite bookstore! Come on.”

She could have sworn that voice belonged to Jason, the guy who had come in and used Bruce Wayne’s credit card. Instead though, when she chanced a look, Red Hood was standing in front of the doors. Next to him, in either of the windows, were the other Outlaws. She couldn’t help but wonder how this had become Red Hood’s favorite bookstore, but she was certainly glad of the protection.

Her suspicions continued to mount when, a few days after the attack, the store received a check in the mail for the cost of the windows. The return address was Wayne Enterprises. 

Nah… she thought to herself as she adjusted the Ocean Vuong books on the best seller display. Jason couldn’t be Red Hood… could he?

“You’re thinking pretty hard about something,” the store owner said, looking over the bookshelf at her.

“Do you remember that really tall guy who came in a couple of weeks ago, Jason?”

The owner thought for a moment. “I remember a tall man blocking the doorway, but he was the one that paid with the Wayne credit card, wasn’t he?”

“Yeah. He said his name is Jason.” The clerk had stopped adjusting the display.

The owner’s eyebrows furrowed as she said, “Hun, that’s not possible.”

When the clerk made no appearance of understanding, she continued, “Jason Todd was the Wayne ward who died.”


End file.
